Rush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute. The term is very broad but often refers to specifically private automobile transportation traffic, even when there is a large volume of cars on a road but not a large number of people, or if the volume is normal but there is some disruption of speed. Definition The name is sometimes a misnomer, as the peak period often lasts more than one hour and the "rush" refers to volume of traffic, not rate of flow. Typically, rush hour is 6–10 am (06:00–10:00) and 4–6 pm (16:00–18:00). Some places may experience another, less frantic, lunchtime rush hour from noon to 2 pm (14:00). The frequency of public transport is usually higher in the rush hour, and longer trains, or larger vehicles are often employed. However, the increase in capacity is often less than the number of passengers, due to the limits on available vehicles, staff and, in the case of rail transport, track capacity including platform length. The resulting crowding may force many passengers to stand, and others may be unable to board. This can make public transport less attractive, leading to higher car use, partly shifting the congestion to roads. Transport demand management, such as road pricing or a congestion charge, is designed to induce people to alter their travel habits so as to minimize congestion. Similarly, public transport fares may be higher; this is usually presented as an off peak discount for single fares, though season tickets or multi-ride tickets, commonly used in rush hours by commuters, are sold at a discount. Staggered hours have been promoted as a means of spreading demand across a longer time span, for example in Rush Hour (1941 film) and by the International Labour Office.Staggered Hours Schemes International Labour Office, Geneva Traffic management by country Australia and New Zealand In Australia, Sydney is usually the most congested cities in the morning between 6 am and 9 am, and 4:30 pm and 7 pm. In Sydney congestion is managed by many means including: Public transport increase the amount of vehicles on the network * Buses increase from 4 per hour to 12 per hour on the Metrobus network, other routes increase limited and express services * The largest rail network in Sydney is heavy rail and the double decker electric multiple units were progressively delivered since 2003, with extra units being delivered as Class 387s. * Ticket prices have 50 cents discount and free travel before 7.45am and 8am to allow spread out travel. * Bus priority where built in Sydney during 2008–2010, these are dedicated roads for buses, and connect major employment centres with the suburban sprawl * ClearWays project allows for broken down trains on the CityRail network to not effect the running of trains on separate lines due to building bypasses, and loop backs alongside the existing track. Traffic congestion is managed through the Traffic Management Centre via a network of Closed Circuit TV's, with operators able to change the timing, and follow of traffic signals to reduce wait times * Most major motorways have the ability for Contra-flow to allow continuing flow of traffic in case of a major accident * Transit Lanes are installed on most major arterial roads, these lanes require a minimum amount of people in the car to be used, an example is T2 require the driver, and 1 passenger to drive in the lane * Dedicated bus lanes, where buses, taxi, and private rental cars are only allowed to drive, this reduces congestion with set down, and pick up of passengers, and normal commuters * Older motor ways have been upgraded from 2 lanes in each direction, to 3 lanes in each direction * Motor way toll booths have been replaced with electronic toll systems (Hills M2 was the last to do so on 21 January 2012); time of day tolling is in use on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and Sydney Harbour Tunnel to provide cash incentives for commuters to remain out of the city in peak times. Singapore In Singapore, there is a free travel scheme before 7:45am and 50 cent discount between 7.45am and 8.00am, which applies only if you exit at the 18 CBD stations, and not enter at the 18 CBD stations. This is an attempt to encourage commuters' travel on the MRT outside the crowded weekday morning peak. Electronic Road Pricing is intended to discourage driving between 7.30am and 8pm. In addition, employees were given travel incentives through Travel Smart programme. Peak hours are defined as follows: 7:30-9:30am and 5pm-8pm, with different times for terminal stations. SMRT's Early Travel Discount Scheme was enhanced from an initial 10 cents to 30 cents in October 2011, and then to 50 cents in August 2012, when the Scheme was also extended to include the Circle Line (CCL). Overall, our assessment is that there has been about a 3% to 4% shift out of the morning peak period of 8 to 9 am for MRT travel into the CBD. We should bear in mind that travel behaviours take time to change because commuters and employers need time to accommodate new travel and work arrangements. Accordingly, travel patterns cannot be expected to shift so rapidly. Therefore, we would continue to monitor and assess the effectiveness of the Early Travel Discount Scheme for a period of time before deciding whether to make further changes. Hence, over the last year, we had made our travel discount schemes more attractive to get commuters who are able to shift their travel patterns to do so. Today, under SMRT's Early Travel Discount scheme, commuters who enter the SMRT network can enjoy a discount of up to fifty cents for the train journey if they exit at any of 14 designated city area stations before 7.45 a.m. Commuters travelling off-peak both before or after the peak period can also accumulate more points to win cash prizes of up to two hundred dollars under another scheme, called the Incentives for Singapore's Commuters, or the INSINC scheme. Both schemes have had some effect in reducing peak crowding the SMRT scheme has seen a three to four percent shift to outside the peak hours, to 7.45 a.m., while INSINC has seen significant growth in its membership, with more than 68,000 members since its launch in January 2012. Shifting the peak hour demand into the pre-peak period, where there is excess capacity, benefits both pre-peak and peak hour travellers. Therefore, we are prepared to significantly increase the incentives to encourage travellers who are able to do so, to shift their travel in this manner. Over the past week, there has been a lot of discussion on Dr Janil Puthucheary's idea to allow commuters to travel free on public transport before the peak hours. Many other Members, like Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Er Dr Lee Bee Wah and Mr Cedric Foo, have come out in support of his idea. This is certainly an idea I will not dismiss off-hand, and I have asked my staff to consider it seriously. What we are still studying is whether we should simply increase the current 50-cent discount substantially to say, $1, or to go all the way to make it free for commuters travelling before a certain cut-off time in the morning. But rest assured that we certainly want to do more to encourage more commuters to shift out of the peak hour. I should first qualify that we are not planning to shift every commuter out of the peak period. As some members of the public have since pointed out after Dr Janil's suggestion came up, if that were to happen, we will simply be creating a new peak earlier in the morning! And that is not our intent. So the fact that there have been mixed views over whether commuters are prepared to shift their travel times should they be offered free travel, is actually quite reassuring, and certainly not a bad thing. More importantly, even as we are studying how to enhance the Early Travel Discount scheme for the city area, we also need to work with employers in the Central Business District (CBD). There is simply no point if people get to work early but are unable to start and leave work early. 8 ST comic panels Otherwise, what is shown here in this Straits Times cartoon may well come true you wake up early so that you can get on the MRT in time to travel for free, 9 ST comic panels but because you woke up earlier than usual, you end up sleeping at your workplace. There are today, more than 40 public agencies located near the 16 city centre MRT stations. Under the Public Services staggered work hour policy, approximately 14,000 public officers working in these agencies have the option to start work earlier to benefit from the free travel trial. Requests by officers to start work at a particular time are usually made directly to their supervisors and do not always require a formal application. Supervisors will generally approve such requests as long as work outcomes and service deliverables to the public are not compromised. The one-year free travel trial was launched on 24 June 2013 to alleviate congestion on the rail network by offering commuters free travel for the rail leg of their journey if they exit any of 16 city area stations before 7.45 am, and up to 50 cents discount for exits between 7.45 am and 8.00 am. So far, the trial has resulted in about 7% decrease in exits for the peak period of 8.00 am to 9.00 am, and about 19% increase in exits for the pre-peak period of between 7.00 am and 8.00 am. Another way of looking at the effectiveness of the trial in smoothening the morning peak period travel is to compare the ratio of exits for the peak period hour between 8.00 am and 9.00 am, with that for the pre-peak hour between 7.00 am and 8.00 am. For the 16 city MRT stations, encouragingly, this ratio has gone down to 2.1 after the implementation of the free travel trial, compared to 2.7 before the trial. The one-year trial by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to provide free travel on the rail network for commuters who end their journey before 7.45am on weekdays at 16 designated city MRT stations has progressed smoothly. We would like to thank commuters, employers and other partners for supporting the trial as well as passenger service staff for providing assistance to commuters. Early results are encouraging with data indicating a decrease of about 9% of commuters exiting the designated city stations during the peak period between 8.00am and 9.00am today, compared to the average daily figures for the first three weeks of June 2013. Travel patterns typically take time to stabilise, as employers and employees make adjustments in workplace and personal arrangements, and there may be daily fluctuations as well. The LTA will therefore continue to monitor the change in travel patterns over the next few months before drawing any conclusions as to the effectiveness of the trial. There was adequate capacity in the trains observed this morning for the pre-peak period. The LTA had worked with the train operators to inject two additional train trips along the North-South and East-West Lines to cater to the increase in pre-peak travel. We will continue to monitor the change in travel patterns and make further adjustments where required. Commuters who are able and willing to make changes to their travel schedule are encouraged to travel earlier into the city before the morning peak to benefit from the free rides. For those who miss the cut-off timing for free travel, they will still enjoy up to 50 cents discount off their train fares if they exit the designated stations between 7.45am and 8am. Employers are encouraged to facilitate their employees to travel earlier to take advantage of the scheme. To create awareness about the free travel trial, banners and posters have been put up in all MRT stations and major transport nodes. Train hangers are also available on the trains for commuters to pick-up and take with them for easier reference. More recently, television interstitials to inform public of the free travel trial are being aired on major free-to-air channels. 2016 We recently announced that the Free Pre-peak Travel scheme will be extended to June 2017. Around 65,000 commuters benefit from the scheme daily. The number of morning peak hour exits at the designated city centre stations has fallen by about 7%, with the ratio of peak to pre-peak exits falling from 2.7 to 2.1. The Free Pre-peak Travel scheme is aimed at reducing crowding along the most congested stretches of our rail network during the morning peak period, which are primarily city-bound trips. We started the Travel Smart Rewards Programme to complement the Free Pre-peak Travel scheme. Under Travel Smart, commuters travelling to MRT stations outside the city area can earn credits for travelling outside peak periods. For commuters who consistently travel off-peak, the Off-Peak Monthly Travel Passes offer further discounts over the regular monthly travel passes. United Kingdom In London, Peak Day Travelcards allow travel at all hours. Off-peak Day Travelcards are 20-50% cheaper but are valid for travel only after 9:30 am and on weekends. This is an attempt to encourage commuters' travel on the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, buses, and trams outside of the crowded weekday morning peak. There is a similar system on Transport (Bus and Tyne and Wear Metro) in the Newcastle upon Tyne area. In London, congestion charges are intended to discourage driving between 7 am and 6 pm. In Manchester, the Metrolink light rail system offers single, return and 'Metromax' daysaver tickets at a reduced price when they are purchased after 9:30 am. This incentive is designed to lure passengers into avoiding the daily crowded conditions at Metrolink stations during rush hour. For Young Persons Railcard holders, the offer of one-third off ticket prices is valid only after 10:00 (unless a minimum fare is paid) or weekends. This restriction is lifted in July and August, the main summer holiday season.Young Persons Railcard For other Railcards, other restrictions apply; for example, the Family Railcard and Network Railcard cannot be used for peak journeys within London and south-east England.Family Railcard United States during rush hour]] Efforts to manage transportation demand during rush hour periods vary by state and by metropolitan area. In some states, freeways have designated lanes that become HOV (High-Occupancy Vehicle aka car-pooling) only during rush hours, while open to all vehicles at other times. In others, such as the Massachusetts portion of I-93, travel is permitted in the breakdown lane during this time. Several states, including Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin use ramp meters to regulate traffic entering freeways during rush hour. Transportation officials in Colorado and Minnesota have added value pricing to some urban freeways around Denver, the Twin Cities, and Seattle, charging motorists a higher toll during peak periods. Transit agencies – such as Metro North serving New York City and WMATA serving Washington, D.C. – often charge riders a higher fare ("peak fares") for travel during the morning and evening rush hour. Rush hour times can range from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. in cities like New York City. New York commuters have to be on the road by at least 6 a.m. because traffic gets heavy between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m. Many train commuters leave early to get the best seats on the trains, because by 7 a.m. the trains are packed with passengers standing or those who can't get on. Los Angeles, California has several rush hours, including a midnight rush for night workers. Bus and train service (such as Metrolink) in Los Angeles are limited and tend to be underused, but their use is increasing. In the Chicago area people use Metra Trains, the 'L', and buses. In Cleveland, Ohio or Northeast Ohio rush hour is 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. is the peak of Cleveland's rush hour. Because of Cleveland's compact size, most people can be in Downtown Cleveland within 10–45 minutes. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority runs buses every half hour and some routes have non-stop freeway buses that run during rush hour. There is also an afternoon rush hour. For example, in the New York City area, the afternoon rush hour can begin as early as 3 p.m. and last until 7 p.m. Some people who live in Connecticut but work in New York often do not arrive home until 7 p.m. or later. On the other hand, in a smaller city like Cleveland, the afternoon rush hour takes place in a more literal sense such that heavy traffic congestion typically only occurs between 5 and 6 p.m. Usually the RTA in Cleveland has an afternoon rush hour schedule like the morning. Boston, Massachusetts, and the larger Greater Boston region, is notorious for traffic congestion due to the region's high population density, outmoded highway system, and the high concentration of corporations with large offices located along major expressways and urban loops (including Route 128, MassPike, I-93, I-495). Despite the region's compact nature, inbound traffic becomes very heavy on all expressways as early as 6 a.m. on a typical weekday morning, making an inbound drive from the suburbs as long as 75 minutes. On the other hand, recent improvements brought about as part of the infamous Big Dig project have improved expressway traffic within Boston's city limits. Cities such as Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington D.C., to name a few, are known for having some of the worst traffic in the country. Los Angeles also has the highest amount of time spent in congestion, followed by Honolulu and Washington D.C.. The "third rush hour" The term the third rush hour has been used to refer to a period of the midday in which roads in urban and suburban areas become congested due to a large number of people taking lunch breaks using their vehicles.Fehr, Stephen. "Third Rush Hour Squeezes Into Midday; Road Congestion at Lunchtime Rivals Morning, Evening Commutes". The Washington Post. August 12, 1990United States Congress. Committee on the District of Columbia. (1977). Hearings, reports and prints of the House Committee on the District of Columbia These motorists often frequent restaurants and fast food locations, where vehicles crowding the entrances cause traffic congestion.Langdon, Philip. (1994). A better place to live: reshaping the American suburb. University of Massachusetts. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-87023-914-4 Active senior citizens, who travel by automobile to engage in many midday activities, also contribute to the midday rush hour. Areas which have large school-age populations may also experience added congestion due to the large number of school buses and kiss-and-ride traffic that flood the roads after the lunch rush hour, but before the evening rush hour. At other times (such as evenings and weekends), additional periods of congestion can be the result of various special events, such as sports games, festivals, or religious services. Out-of-the-ordinary congestion can be the result of an accident, construction, long holiday weekends, or inclement weather. See also *Carpool *Congestion pricing *High occupancy vehicle lane *Road space rationing *Road traffic control *Traffic wave *Ramp meter References Category:Public transport Category:Periodic phenomena